New Orleans Saints hope to eschew the miscue

MIchael DeMocker / The Times-PicayuneDrew Brees says the Saints are doing everything they need to do to win, except avoiding penalties and turnovers.

Talent and expectations, along with a 2-3 record, can often lead to questions about what a team is missing.

So what is the diagnosis for the Saints, who have lost three games by a combined 10 points and find themselves at the bottom of the NFC South, with the Raiders coming to the Superdome today? What has been missing?

"I wouldn't say missing, " Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. "We need to start missing the offside penalties and the turnovers. We can go ahead and get rid of those and hope that they never come back. That's been a big reason why we've faltered at times.

"I think if you look at the stats, as far as the third-down conversions and red-zone efficiency and ability to make big plays and defense stopping the run and stopping big plays, we're doing all of those things. But the two areas that we've really kind of fallen back are penalties and turnovers, and unfortunately those are two of the most important stats. And that'll get you beat."

The Saints enter today's game with their usual offensive firepower -- Brees, running back Reggie Bush and possibly receiver Marques Colston, who might play for the first time since injuring his thumb Sept. 7. They also come into the Superdome with 40 penalties, the third most in the league, and a turnover margin of minus-4, tied for third-worst in the NFL.

During their past two games, both at the Superdome, the Saints had 24 penalties for 225 yards and six turnovers. New Orleans had 68 penalties and 30 turnovers last season.

The excuses are there for the taking, with an oversized portion of the Saints' roster, including Colston and tight end Jeremy Shockey, missing much of the season with injuries. But Brees called the mistakes "high school stuff, " and Bush said they were fundamental errors.

So what, according to Bush, is the missing factor with the Saints, the one issue that must be addressed beginning today, before three losses become a downward spiral?

"I think maybe accountability, for each and every player on the team, " said Bush, who echoed comments of Saints Coach Sean Payton and criticized himself for a fumble against Minnesota on Monday night.

"We all have to be accountable and do our job, " Bush said. "If we each do our job correctly, we don't have any mistakes, and that's what we have to focus on, just being accountable, making sure you are in the spot you're supposed to be in. You're not jumping offside or you're not fumbling the ball, stuff like that, and everything else will fall into place. We've got the playmakers here. We've got the guys here to be an undefeated team. The recipe is here. We've just got to put it together."

A lack of accountability and responsibility could also help explain the way the Saints have been losing, late in games, with missed kicks and other blown opportunities. New Orleans has outscored its opponents 85-54 in the second and third quarters, then been beaten 39-33 in fourth quarters.

"There's got to be that sense of urgency where, here we go, and this is two minutes left in the game and we've got the ball, " Payton said. "And we've got to dig down a little deeper, all of us, and recognize that moment of a win or a loss right at hand and really execute better in that sequence."

For the Saints' offense, perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the team's 30-27 defeat to the Vikings, was that Brees said it was as good a game as he has ever seen his team's defense play.

In a performance that showed their dramatic improvement from last season, the Saints' defenders held Minnesota to 270 yards, including 32 yards on 21 carries for running back Adrian Peterson.

"You put up 400 yards of offense and you hold them to, whatever, 50 yards rushing on 30 carries total, " Brees said. "You look at it and say, 'That's a game we should win.'

"Had you just told us those two stats before the game, I'd have said, 'Oh, we killed these guys.' But five turnovers and 100 yards worth of penalties, that changes the whole picture."

The Saints' defense faces a similar threat this week. The Raiders (1-3) have the fourth-worst passing attack in the league, with 153 yards per game, and they have used Darren McFadden to rank third-best in rushing yards per game, with 155.

This week, though, the focus will be on the Saints' offense and its fundamentals.

Brees leads a unit that is the only one in the NFL to average more than 300 yards passing per game (325.8), and Payton's offense has long been considered the strength of the Saints. Now, there seems to be a need to prove that the offense can still do what it is expected to do without making mistakes.

"The offense isn't really holding up their end of the bargain, " Bush said. "We've got to step up and meet the defense and help them out, because they're doing a great job right now. These last few games, they've been playing great, and we've got to, on offense, figure out how to get this thing back on track."

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Teddy Kider can be reached at tkider@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3409.